Nazi Olympics exhibit opens in Vancouver

A controversial exhibit has opened in Vancouver, depicting the Canadian team at one of the most controversial Olympics ever — the 1936 Summer Games in Berlin, staged by the German Nazi regime of Adolf Hitler.

The exhibit of photographs, documents and artifacts, which opened Thursday at the Vancouver Holocaust Education Centre, shows how Hitler's Third Reich turned the Games into a showcase for Nazi propaganda, and how Canadians became part of the spectacle.

"These games represent the first point of contact between Canada and Nazi Germany," exhibit curator Frieda Miller told CBC News Thursday.

Photos show swastikas and Nazi banners flying alongside the five iconic Olympic rings.

A display case features the sash worn by Canadian athletes during the opening and closing ceremonies, adorned with a black swastika.